Chandigarh, Feb 13 (IANS) Turbans went flying Tuesday morning at Badal village in Punjab's Lambi assembly seat, the political home turf of former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, as ruling Congress and opposition Shiromani Akali Dal workers clashed at a polling booth during voting for the state assembly elections.

State election department officials said that till 11 a.m. 15-17 percent voting had been reported from most constituencies for 115 of the 117 seats in Punjab.

The inadequate security arrangements in the VIP seat of Lambi, where Badal is contesting against cousin Mahesh Inder Singh Badal of the Congress, were exposed Tuesday as workers of both sides clashed inside a polling station in a government school in Badal village, 200 km from here.

There were only a few policemen at the polling station at the time of the clash. Reinforcements were rushed in nearly an hour after the incident.

Parkash Singh Badal and Mahesh Inder Singh had cast their vote at the same place earlier.

Voting began at 8 a.m. Tuesday even as it rained in several parts of the state. However, in some of the 16,751 polling stations, people arrived to cast their votes even before 8 a.m.

Chief Minister Amarinder Singh cast his vote in Patiala town just after 10 a.m. amid a steady drizzle.

"The rain is not going to spoil our game. People are coming to vote. This is wonderful weather. These rains are good for farmers and a good omen for them. The Badals (punning on the word which also means clouds) of the walking variety will be blown away," Amarinder Singh told reporters after casting his vote.

Rain and drizzle were reported from most parts of the state with the sky overcast. Despite the rain, people queued up outside rural polling stations.

Parkash Singh Badal had his own say on the poll prospects.

"The rural people in the state are not afraid of the rain. They will come out to oust the animal called Congress," Badal said in Badal village, claiming that the Akali-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance would romp home.

A fierce contest is expected between the ruling Congress led by Amarinder Singh and the main opposition Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP alliance.

Voting for the Amritsar Lok Sabha by-election also started simultaneously. The fate of cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu of BJP and Punjab Finance Minister Surinder Singla of the Congress rests on this seat.

There are over 1,050 candidates in the fray and 64,000 security personnel have been put on election duty.

Voting for the Valtoha assembly seat will take place Feb 24 and Beas seat March 11.

The fate of Amarinder Singh (Patiala), Deputy Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal (Lehra), Parkash Singh Badal (Lambi) and former Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) president Jagir Kaur (Bholath) will be decided Tuesday by an electorate of over 16.9 million.